第七天 Americans’Marriage and Family

Marriage in the United States tends to look more like serial monogamy than lifetime partnership, especially in the major city. Just under half of all marriages end in divorce. However, this statistic is misleading，many people, such as Elizabeth Taylor or Todd Fisher marry repeatedly but three-quarters of Americans who marry for the first time stay that way. The others go through several spouses before settling down and approximately 10% of men and 5% of women never marry at all. When Americans say family, they mean a nuclear family of Mom, Dad, and the kids. An ideal family is a non-working wife, the caring, nurturing mother who greets children after school with a plate of home-baked cookies. Such women, while they do exist, are nearly extinct. More than 80% of women between the ages of 35 and 45 are employed outside the home for the simple reason that they need the money. The children go to day care nurseries or stay with a relative or neighbour, when they’re old enough, they go to school and to after-school care. Working parents, especially those in demanding careers, must console themselves by spending “quality time” rather than quantity time with their children.

美国人的婚姻和家庭

在美国，结婚越来越像是不断配对拆对重新组合的过程，而不是结成终身伴侣，在在城市尤其如此。近半数的婚姻以离异告终。不过，这一统计资料是一种误导：有许多人，诸如伊丽莎白•泰勒和托德，费希尔，是一次又一次的结了又结。但是3∕4的美国人却是结第一次婚之后从一而终。其余的人择偶则要经历数个配偶之后才能固定下来。约10%的男子和5%的女子终生不婚。美国人所说的“家庭”是指由父母 孩子组成的小家庭。理想的家庭里有一个不上班的妻子，她照顾抚育孩子，在孩子放学时端上一盘自制的曲奇。这样的女人，虽然确实还有，不过那也是寥若晨星。36至45岁的女人，80%以上都在外面受雇工作。原因很简单，她们需要这份工薪。孩子送日托或者放在亲戚、邻居家里；年龄够了就上学，放学后去课余托管处，上班的父母，尤其是那些工作压力大的人，在孩子身上花时间只有“以质代量”以告慰自己。